Overall review
This is a hit-and-miss collection. If you are not a fan chatty, overlong stories, or works that try to convert you to Christianity whilst being sold as mainstream horror tales, you might want to not read Strange. I’ve read a few other works ─ novels ─ by Koontz, and this, by far, is the worst book I’ve read from this author.
Pieces
“Strange Highways” (novella): A middle-aged alcoholic (Joey Shannon) returns to his coal-mining town of Asherville to bury his father and, beyond mourning his estranged relative, he finds a new reason to weep ─ and fear. Horrifying memories and truths from his past await him in nearby Coal Valley, where a vicious murder occurred, one linked to his family.
There is a lot to admire about this atmospheric, visually-rich short novel. The characters are well-written, most of the twists arrive at the right time, the pacing and the settings are excellent, when “Strange” stays on track as surrealistic time-traveling-to-a-dark-past work.
One of the main problems is that “Strange,” a 154-page tale, runs fifty pages too long. It is often in these extra pages where Koontz’s Twilight Zone-esque story is marred by in-your-face religiosity, between Joey and Celeste’s repeated church visits, Koontz’s ham-fisted symbolism and overt ‘without religious faith, Joey is lost’ dialogue. This might as well be a Christian novella of the week contender, with its ridiculous third-act/video game-esque character “reset” scenes and certain scenes where it suddenly morphs into vampire mythology nonsense.
If you are inclined toward Christian faith, there is a good chance you will revel in this story. If you are inclined to dislike overly Christian works, you may roll your eyes at the overbearing, plot-convenient “miracles” that even “Strange”’s extraneous “reasoning” cannot support.
Koontz, in a collection-ending “Note to the Readers,” wrote that he usually does not write supernatural-themed horror works. Reading “Strange,” I can see why. He should stay away from them.
“The Black Pumpkin”: A young boy is terrified when his older brother buys a creepier-than-usual carved pumpkin. Good Halloween tale.
“Miss Atilla the Hun”: Hopeful, entertaining and sometimes cheesy story about love, a schoolteacher and an invasive alien.
“Down in the Darkness”: A man discovers that his cellar might be used as a site of vengeance. Good use of symbolism, solid work.
“Ollie’s Hands”: Empathetic, sad tale about a lonely man with special abilities, as he tries to bond with a woman he rescued.
“Snatcher”: Creepy-/EC-esque story about a thief who steals the wrong purse, one that will take him down. Predictable but fun.
“Trapped”: Mutant rats escape from a lab and attack a woman and her ten-year-old son. Solid work.
“Bruno”: Silly, alternate world-themed pulp detective tale. Offbeat, in a chatty way.
“We Three”: Evolutionarily-advanced children usher in new genetic apocalypses, perhaps their own. Excellent, short, one of my favorite entries in this collection.
“Hardshell”: Overly long work about a cop and a serial killer battling in a warehouse. This is another oddball story with science fiction infused into it.
“Kittens”: Horrible, pointless story about murdered felines, with a dumb ending.
“The Night of the Storm”: Four robots confront mythical creatures: men. This is a religious ‘God exists’ story with a chatty science fiction overlay.
“Twilight of the Dawn”: A man’s son, who believes in God, dies. So, of course, God must exist, and anyone who doubts that is arrogant and must be stupid. That is the gist of this Hallmark Channel Movie of the Week in short story form, one that runs way too long.
“Chase”: I forgot to take notes on this one. I recall, however, that it runs in the same religious vein as the two previous stories.
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